WITHDRAW FROM THE WORLD - 04/29/22 (Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena)

John 6:4-5,11,15

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to Him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" 

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

15 Perceiving then that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.

For the full readings, click here: 

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/daily-readings

For more information on the Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, click here:

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/april-29-saint-catherine-of-siena-virgin-and-doctor-of-the-church/

Blessed Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena! After the multitude saw the miracle of feeding the 5,000, they seized our Lord and forced Him to be their king. Their idea of a king was a worldly one, and because the idea of Kingdom of Jesus was different from them, He withdrew from them. In our culture today, many people may take us by force to adopt a worldly mindset. This can be done by influencing us to sinful ways, and they can even persecute us when we are practicing our faith as Catholics. How can we withdraw from the world? There are at least two things we can do to remain faithful to Christ even if we are in this world. 

First, it is necessary for us to remain firm in our prayer life. When Jesus was being forced by the people, He went to the mountain. The mountain is a symbolism of prayer and holiness. By strengthening our prayer life, we desire even more to be united with God in heaven and not to dwell on the sins of the world. God grants us the grace to persevere amidst the many temptations that come to us, even if they are coming from our families and friends who may not be acting in accordance to God's will. Jesus will give us His light, so we can see the darkness of sins and avoid them. There is nothing to fear because God is on our side. At the same time, in our prayer, we will obtain clarity in such a way that we will be more compassionate, not angry, towards people who are living in sinful ways just as how Jesus was compassionate to the multitude.

Second, Jesus wants us to know that in the Eucharist, we will obtain the grace to be like Him in this world. In the sacrament of the Mass, we become truly united with our Lord. The feeding of the 5,000 took place when the Passover was near. When He took the bread, give thanks and distributed the bread to the multitude, He was foreshadowing the institution of the Eucharist on the Last Supper. Just as how the feeding of the 5,000 was miraculous, we experience a miracle at every Mass because we truly receive the Body and Blood of Christ. But, it's up to us if we really want to receive Him. Our Lord was feeding those people who really wanted the food. If Jesus is really present in the Eucharist even if we are so unworthy to receive Him, do we really desire to be united with Him and receive eternal life? 

St. Catherine of Siena was zealous in her desire for Church unity. She was opposed by many people, but she remained on fire in her calling because of her devotion to Christ. Even though she was a lay and living an active life, she was more prayerful than some of the monks and nuns who lived in monasteries or convents. Let's pray that through her intercession, we may be more faithful to our prayer life even amidst the oppositions and temptations in the world. Does God want us to pray more devotions? Does He want us to reflect more on His Word and on our own sinfulness? Is He calling us to participate in daily Mass, even if it's through Online Mass, besides the Sunday Mass? Let's discern the will of God for us, so we can be withdrawn from the world and be on fire with the Divine Love 

 Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic